How to Make Kimchi Soup

If you're craving for some authentic Korean food, you don't necessarily have to go to a restaurant to satisfy your taste buds. Prepare Kimchi soup at home with either tofu, pork, or seafood with recipes mentioned in this Tastessence article.

Sheetal Mandora

A traditional Korean Kimchi soup, known as Kimchi-guk, is served in a traditional hot pot called ttukbaegi. The pot can keep the soup hot for a longer period of time, giving you enough time to finish it. Kimchi is a staple food among Koreans, where the ingredients consist of napa cabbage, cucumber, carrots, and tons of mixed pickled vegetables in salt and garlic. The flavor is usually strong and overwhelming, for some, at times. The soup is easy to make and tastes absolutely delicious due to its spicy flavors. When the weather is cold or you feel like eating something hot, make this soup in a jiffy.

Kimchi-Tofu SoupCalories - 186

Ingredients

Sesame oil, 3 tablespoons

Kochujang (Korean chili pepper paste), 1 tablespoon

Rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon

Soy sauce, 1 tablespoon

Vegetable stock, 6 cups

Spinach, 2 cups

Kimchi, chopped, 1½ cups

Short-grain white rice, ½ cup

Scallions, chopped, 6

Tofu, chopped into ½" pieces, 8 oz.

Black pepper

Procedure

In a pot, pour 2 tablespoons of sesame oil and sauté the scallions for a minute. Add the Kimchi, tofu, and kochujang, and stir the mixture for about 30 seconds or so. Now add the vegetable stock along with vinegar and soy sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil, and reduce the heat to simmer. Add the short-grain white rice in, and cook for at least 15―20 minutes, or till the rice is tender. Once the rice has been in the pot for approximately 10 minutes, add the spinach. In the end, add the sesame oil and ground black pepper on top, and serve.

Kimchi-Pork SoupCalories - 289

Ingredients

Pork, sliced, ¼ lb.

Tofu, cubed, ¼ slab

Water, 3 cups

Kimchi, 4 tablespoons

Kochujang (Korean chili pepper paste), 2 teaspoons

Kochukaru (Korean chili pepper powder), 2 teaspoons

Garlic, minced, 1 teaspoon

Carrots, chopped, 2

Green onions, sliced diagonally, 2

Chinese cabbage, julienne, ½

Onion, julienne, ½

Soy sauce, for taste

Procedure

Place the sliced pork pieces in boiling water so that it removes all the impurities. As the surface turns white, remove the pork from water, and get rid of the water. In the same pot, boil some water and add all the vegetables, except for green onions and Kimchi. Boil the vegetables for a few minutes, reduce the heat, and simmer the mixture for about half an hour. Then add the chili pepper paste, kochukarau, sliced green onions, cubes of tofu, and minced garlic. Again simmer the mixture for about 20 minutes, and add soy sauce in the end according to your preference. Serve the soup hot with some steamed rice.

Kimchi-Seafood SoupCalories - 450

Ingredients

Clams, 3

Anchovies, dry, 3

Garlic, minced, 3

Mushrooms, sliced, 2

Kelps, dry, 2

Semi-soft tofu, 1 pack

Water, 1 cup

Onion, chopped, ¼ cup

Jalapeno, sliced, ¼ cup

Kimchi, chopped, ¼ cup

Red pepper oil, 1 tablespoon

Sesame oil, ½ tablespoon

Shrimp sauce, salted, ½ tablespoon

Scallion, sliced, ½

Egg, raw, 1

Procedure

In a pan, boil anchovies and kelp in some water. In a ttukbaegi, pour red pepper oil, onion, garlic, and chili powder. Stir the onions and add sesame oil, chopped Kimchi, and clams in. Make sure you are stirring the mixture continuously. Drain the anchovies and kelp, and mix it into the ttukbaegi; add tofu to the mixture. Now add the rest of the vegetables in and slices of chili (depending on how spicy you want the soup to be). Season the soup with shrimp sauce and boil for some time. Once this is thick enough to your liking, remove it off the stove. Crack the raw egg directly on top of the soup. Bury the egg underneath the tofu so it can cook slowly till you eat it.

These soups are sure to bring variety to your dinner table. Call your friends and family over and enjoy the spice of Korea―your fabulous and yummy Kimchi soup!